Fall 2025 Topics Under Development

AI, Morality, and the End of Human Exceptionalism. We teach them to see, listen, and judge. And we call it progress. We build AI in our image. We give it voices, feelings, even "compassion." But the resemblance is only skin-deep. In asking machines to act like us, we’re beginning to ask them to define us. The real danger isn’t in what AI shows us. It’s in how much of ourselves we’re willing to give away.

Are We Addicted to Expertise? We glorify expertise. We promote it. We hire for it. But what if our collective addiction to expertise is the very thing stifling innovation, slowing down transformation, and preventing organizations from adapting to a future that refuses to look like the past?

In the Boardroom: From Stewards to Activators. Board members are evolving their role from advisors to agenda-setters in shaping how companies grow, adapt, and lead in an era of constant disruption. How do you bring your functional expertise into the room without being siloed by it? How do you connect emerging trends to enterprise value, capital strategy, and market differentiation? And how do you ensure that your seat at the table is not just preserved, but pivotal?

Escaping the Spaghetti Bowl: Who Really Owns the Composable Enterprise? In theory, the composable enterprise promises agility, speed, and innovation at scale. In practice, it can often look like a digital Rube Goldberg machine made up of SaaS platforms, cloud sprawl, shadow IT, AI copilots, and managed services loosely stitched together with duct tape and hope. The real challenge isn’t build versus buy. It’s orchestrating a cohesive, accountable ecosystem that drives real business value.

Imposters Will Fall: Choosing Builders Over Brand Names. In a world where capital is constrained, promises are cheap, and technology is moving faster than governance can track, senior leaders are now the most powerful allocators of survival in the enterprise ecosystem. Your vendor portfolio isn’t just a list of contracts, it’s a living portfolio of bets with each demanding attention, funding, and belief. Not all vendors will deliver, and not all deserve to be saved. Economic pressure will test the balance sheet, but it can expose also the vendors that have been riding coattails, bloating operations, or masking inefficiencies under the banner of "innovation."